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Burnaby RCMP used a chainsaw to rescue an elderly man Monday night after he was trapped under a mountain of household items.

A concerned friend couldn’t get a hold of the 76-year-old man and called RCMP at around 8 p.m, spokesperson Cpl. David Reid said.

When officers arrived in his home in the 6900-block of Mandy Avenue, they found the man under a pile of his belongings.

“He was trapped under a lot of stuff,” Reid said Tuesday. “He couldn’t move or get up so we had to make a forced entry to the house. It became necessary to use a chainsaw to extract him from the material that he was trapped under.”

The hoarding was so extensive, he added, that were “piles literally up to the roof on both floors of the residence.”

The man was rushed to Burnaby General Hospital.

“He has injuries to his one leg that was trapped and the circulation was cut off,” Reid said. “Whether or not they’re going to deal with that or how they’re going to deal with it, I’m not sure.”

The man was unable to reach the phone and respond to those calling him, Reid added, and “had no one gone to his aid, the outcome could have been a lot more tragic.”